Sign letter



i 19333 s. G. LANG, an 2,141,955

SIGN LETTER Filed July 15, 1937 INVENTOR. amue/ 6. Lazy 3 1 ATTORNEY 5.

Patented Dec. 27, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SIGN LETTER Samuel G. Lang, 3rd, Cincinnati, Ohio, assignor to W. A. Barrows Porcelain Enamei Company, Cincinnati, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application July 15, 1937, Serial No. 153,798

9 Claims. (01. 40l40) The present invention relates to the fabrication tice required no particular kind of joint between of sheet metal shapes in such a manner as to enthe sheet metal sections, other than one that hance and facilitate the application of baked or would be sufficiently strong, and convenient to fired finishes. form. Such joints being more or less common,

Another object of the invention is to improve they were employed indiscriminately in forming the quality, appearance, and durability of articles the different parts of the letters or other shapes. fabricated of sheet metal and coated or decorated The result of all this was the unsatisfactory with baked or fired finishes. fabrication of shapes that would buckle or warp A further object of the invention is the producduring the welding process, and under application tion of articles of the character stated, by means of the baking or firing heat of 1300 to 1600 10 of a simple, inexpensive, and effective method or degrees. Also, difiiculty was experienced in causprocedure whereby perfection in the finished ing the coating, (particularly porcelain enamel), product is assured, and special final retouching to adhere to the weld because of the composition or corrective operations are effectively eliminated. of the flux used, or possibly due to oxidation or More specifically, it is an object of the present chemical changes in the metal resulting in effect- 15 invention to provide a novel method and means ing a gas weld. Another objection to the old of forming sheet metal block letters, allowing practice was the formation of shapes having exgreat latitudes in all dimensions of the letters, posed raw metal edges which, due to their sharp and enabling the production of such letters in and thin character, failed to hold the coating any sizes and with their faces set at various material in sufficient quantity to obviate the tend- 2 depths relative to their sides, without resort to ency toward transparency of the coating at said special manufacturing operations. edges. On numerous occasions, the coating The foregoing and other objects are attained would completely leave the raw edges during the by the means described herein and disclosed in baking or firing process, and a very poor and the accompanying drawing, in which: unsatisfactory job would result. All of these 25 ig. 1 is a perspective View of a block letter objectionable features of the prior practice, as embodying the invention. well as some minor ones, have been obviated by Fig. 2 is a fragmental perspective View showing means of the present invention which will now be one end of a block letter, this being a modification described in detail.

of the Fig. 1 construction. With reference now to the accompanying draw- 30 Fig, 3 is a view of the Fig, 2 construction ining, the character A indicates a block letter or verted to show the back thereof. other shape having a face properly cut from Fig. 4 is a fragmental perspective view showing sheet metal to establish a desired contour or dea further modification of block letter construction. g s face piece a 110 flanges, and it y For convenience of illustration and explanation accordingly be formed quickly and accurately 35 of the invention, the fabrication of sheet metal with a minimum of effort and time expenditure. block letters will be treated throughout the speci- The face piece 5 is bounded by side pieces which, fications, with the understanding, however, that if made in separate sections, may be identified by the invention is applicable to other structures or t Characters d The sections 6,

shapes which generally are coated with a finish- 7 a y be made 1 Of a Single Strip D D- 4,0 ing substance, particularly porcelain enamel, or erly bent to follow a continuous ed o the face other vitreous or siliceous compositions applied p if desired, and Such practice y pp y by means of a baking or firing process. also to the sections 9 and It].

In the past, the baking or firing of coated sheet Each Side piece Section Comprises a y metal letters or other built-up objects constructed main D and an te ra inwardly and down- 45 basically of sheet metal, was attended by several wardly turned flange formed along the upper serious and vexatious difliculties that resulted 0 Outer edges 53 thereof, Said flanges p v d in poor finishing, warping, and other imperf abutments for the edges M of the face piece 5. tions which rendered the manufacture of such O t ese flanges abutments the face p e e articles costly as well as unsatisfactory of results. may be welded electrically at intervals along the 50 The practice had been to construct or build up face piece edges, interiorly of the shape or letter, the letters or articles by fitting sheet metal secas indicated most clearly at l5 in Figs. 1 and 3. tions together, and making a composite structure The welds preferably connect the face piece to the by means of a continuous gas Weld, or line welds flanges 12 and to the main body portions of the 55 connecting adjacent sections. The prior pracside pieces, (see Fig. 3), thereby to proclude fiex- 55 ing or separation of the flanges from the body portions of the side pieces. The positioning and the welding of the parts may be performed in a suitable jig, (not shown), if desired.

At this point, it may be noted that all the exposed edges I3 are rounded, and they present smoothly finished surfaces of suflicient area to hold a desired thickness of porcelain enamel or other coating material to be baked on or fired. Of equal importance is the fact that the present construction permits of setting the face of the letter deeply beyond the edges 13, as in Fig. 2, or close to the edges as indicated by Fig. 1. When the face is to be deep-set, as in Figs. 2, 3, and 4, it is necessary only to increase the width of flanges l2 to a desired extent, and set the face piece in position for welding as heretofore described. This may be desirable in the application of gaseous tube illumination for the letter or shape, as indicated by the character l6 of Fig. 4.

The drawing illustrates several modes of mounting the letters or shapes upon a wall or other support. In Fig. 1 is shown a mounting stud ll welded or otherwise suitably fixed to a flange or edge l8 interiorly of the shape, this stud being threaded for reception of a nut. It will be understood, of course, that the shape may carry a plurality of mounting studs II. In Figs. 2 and 3, the mounting means is a screw or bolt I!) having an extending threaded end, and a head 26 welded or otherwise fixed to the back of the face piece 5.

Fig. 4 discloses a mounting means in the form of a base plate 2| having one or more key-hole slots 22 formed therein whereby the shape may be hung upon the heads of screws, nails, studs or the like fixed to a supporting surface. The base plate may be welded or otherwise fixed to the side pieces 6 and 8, there being shown supporting flanges 23 and 24, and Welds l5, for the purpose. It should be noted that in each form of the device of the invention, the raw edges of the face pieces have a line abutting relationship with the surfaces of flanges such as i2 near the free edges of the flanges, where the welds may be applied at intervals or possibly continuously along said edges. As before stated, this construction eliminates strains in the metal and obviates the buckling and warping which previously was a fault causing considerable difficulty and expense in the manufacture of articles such as those under consideration. The construction herein disclosed insures production of a uniformly thick coating on all exposed edges of the letter or shape, and presents an indication of superior workmanship in the manufacturing process. Objects made in accordance with the present invention have been found highly acceptable due to their sturdy construction and the ability to withstand abuse and careless handling. Other advantages have been stated earlier in the specifications.

It has been found advantageous to employ in the process of this invention, that form of welding known as tack welding, using an electric arc, although it is conceivable that spot welding or line welding either by gas or electricity may be employed under proper conditions, or possibly with the loss of one or more but not all of the advantages specified herein. In the tack welding process, welding metal in small amounts is added to the surfaces joined, whereas spot welding generally is effected without the addition of metal.

It is to be understood that various modifications and changes may be made in the structural details of the device, within the scope of the appended claims, without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. The method of manufacturing shapes to be individually mounted upon a support, which method comprises the forming of a sheet metal face piece of a desired contour, and of side pieces having edges turned upon themselves to form interior flanges upon the body portions of the side pieces, placing the raw edges of the face piece in edgewise abutment upon the faces of the flanges, and tack-welding the edges of the face piece to the faces of the flanges, and thereafter applying a vitreous coating by baking or firing, to the resultant joint.

2. The method of manufacturing sheet metal shapes to be subjected to coating and baking, said method comprising the forming of a sheet metal face piece of a desired contour, and of side pieces each having a body portion with a flange along an edge thereof, placing the face piece between a plurality of such side pieces with the edges of the face piece abutting the flanges substantially at right angles, then electrically tack-welding the face piece edges to the flanges at intervals along their length, to avoid setting up molecular strains which tend to distort the shape and detract from its appearance and ease of mounting, and thereafter coating the face piece and side pieces with porcelain enamel and subjecting the entire structure to a baking process whereby to provide a continuous porcelain seal at and adjacent to the joints formed by abutting the edges or" the face piece with the flanges of the side pieces.

3. In a structure of the class described, the combination of a face piece having opposed raw edges, and means in the form of side walls for confining and bounding said raw edges, the side walls each having a flange along an edge thereof turned inwardly and substantially flatly against theside wall, the terminal edge of the flange being extended along the side wall with a predetermined extent of overlap depending upon the depth at which the face piece is to be inset within the confining side walls, means securing the face piece edges at intervals to an adjacent face of the flange and a continuous vitreous coating extending over said face piece and side walls and sealing the joint formed by the abutting portions of said face piece and side walls.

4. In a structure of the class described, the combination of a face piece having opposed raw edges, and means in the form of side walls for confining and bounding said raw edges, the side walls each having a flange along an edge thereof turned inwardly and substantially flatly against the side wall, the terminal edge of the flange being extended along the side wall with a predetermined extent of overlap depending upon the depth at which the face piece is to be inset with the confining side walls, means securing the face piece edges at intervals to an adjacent face of the flange, a continuous vitreous coating extending over said face piece and side walls and sealing the joint formed by the abutting portions of said face piece and side walls, and. means for mounting the structure upon a support.

5. As a new article of manufacture, a block letter comprising a pair of side walls arranged in spaced relationship, inwardly turned flanges along corresponding edges of said side walls, the

flanges extending downwardly between the walls and against their respective side walls, mounting studs fixed to and extending from the side walls in the general direction of flange extension, a face piece fitted between the walls to abut the flanges thereof edgewise, a series of spaced tack welds joining the flange-contacting edges of the face piece to the edges of the flanges and to the inner faces of the side walls and a continuous vitreous coating extending over said face piece and side Walls and sealing the joint formed by the abutting portions of said face piece and side walls.

6. A device of the class described comprising in combination a face sheet having a raw edge, and a bounding member in the form of a wall, said bounding member having a body portion with a wide flange turned upon the body portion to form a rounded smooth edge at the line of turning, leaving a free edge of the flange lying close to the body portion but at a distance from said line of turning, a weld joining the raw edge of the sheet in edge-butting relationship to a face of the flange, at substantially the location of the free edge line of the flange and a continuous vitreous coating extending over the rounded smooth edge of the bounding member and over the joint formed between said flange and said raw edge of the sheet.

'7. A device of the class described comprising in combination a face sheet having a raw edge, and a bounding member in the form of a wall, said bounding member having a body portion with a wide flange turned upon the body portion to form a rounded smooth edge at the line of turning, leaving a free edge of the flange lying close to the body portion but at a distance from said line of turning, a weld joining the raw edge of the sheet in edge-butting relationship to a face of the flange, at substantially the location of the free edge line of the flange, and to the body portion of the bounding member adjacent to said free edge line and a continuous vitreous coating extending over the rounded smooth edge of the bounding member and over the joint formed between said flange and said raw edge of the sheet.

8. The method of manufacturing shaped characters to be unified in a composite sign or the like and which method comprises forming a sheet metal face piece member of a desired shape or contour with an unfinished lateral or peripheral edge, forming a side piece member conforming to the shape of said face piece member and having a downturned lateral flange, placing the lateral edge of the face piece member in abutment against the lateral flange of the side piece member and permanently securing together the said contacting portions of the side piece member and the face piece member, and thereafter applying a vitreous coating to said face and side piece members and the joint therebetween by baking or firing, whereby the vitreous coating seals and provides a continuous vitreous surface over said joint between said members.

9. In a device of the class described the combination of a sheet metal face piece member of a desired shape or contour having an unfinished lateral or peripheral edge, a sheet metal side piece member conforming to the shape of said face piece member and comprising a body portion and an integral downturned flange disposed adjacent to and in substantial parallelism with the body portion thereof, the flange having fixed contact and connection with the peripheral edge of the face piece member, and a continuous coating of vitreous material extending over and sealing the joint between the face piece and the side piece members.

SAMUEL G. LANG, 3RD. 

